Official Thread: The Hero's Journey

[Duggy'sMom]

That is slightly insidious that people in the photos of the new Hero's Journey are wearing black - especially if one is trying to see the finer details! Very intriguing though...

What photos of people wearing black?

[PaulT00]

I'm seeing what appears to be an elongated, rotated Aeronaut-type front-loading design with something like a Pilot bolted on top. Seems reminiscent of an upscaled NFTD crossed with an A45...

[sturbridge]

What photos of people wearing black?

Click on the arrows that appear on the sides of the picture. There are more photos.

[Duggy'sMom]

Thanks! Found them! And my what a huge bag this is! (4'10" of me thinks so at least).

[bintobeen]

I gotta say... so excited to see this bag, and as owner of a few TB things, I love the brand. But... Hero's Journey is a terrible name. It strikes me as a bit jingoistic, a bit pretentious and actually antithetical to the normal TB ethos, which to me is that anybody can travel, enjoy life, meet new people and use ultrafunctional objects (eg bags, accessories) to do so. The traveler is more anonymous, does not stand above the people around them. A "hero" is overused and implies superiority over others who don't have access or privilege to do so.

My 2 cents...

[tehoneac]

Post speculation / ideas / questions (not that we'll be able to answer all of them: we're trying to keep some things a surprise!) here.

Somewhat unrelated to the actual bag... where are those photos taken?

[Badger]

I gotta say... so excited to see this bag, and as owner of a few TB things, I love the brand. But... Hero's Journey is a terrible name. It strikes me as a bit jingoistic, a bit pretentious and actually antithetical to the normal TB ethos, which to me is that anybody can travel, enjoy life, meet new people and use ultrafunctional objects (eg bags, accessories) to do so. The traveler is more anonymous, does not stand above the people around them. A "hero" is overused and implies superiority over others who don't have access or privilege to do so.

My 2 cents...

The "hero's journey" is a narrative pattern: you go out, have an adventure, and return changed. The "change" part is what's important: with the stereotypical hero (think Lancelot, Beowulf, etc), you've already got perfection, and thus the guy doesn't change all that much. But every modern literary tradition is obsessed not with the perfect hero, but with the imperfect Everyman whose heroism emerges during a transformative journey. Think about Bilbo Baggins (or Frodo, or Samwise, or practically any hobbit), Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, and so on: sure, they have an untapped power and some sort of exceptionality that is revealed over the course of the story, but they are normal people who rise to a challenge and, in the act of doing so, assume their heroic nature and are transformed. This vision of the hero is, to my mind, ubiquitous to humanity and it's a kind of heroism that's accessible to anyone who chooses to undertake a challenge and allows themselves to be transformed. That is what the best sort of travel should do: reveal to us the strengths, weaknesses, and essential truths about ourselves and change us—hopefully for the better. I like the TB bags with literary references but a) I am unabashedly pretentious and b) what the bag is named doesn't really matter. Hero's Journey is a lot easier to say than Customizable Convertible Internal-Frame Backpack with Multi-Configurable Zip-Off Personal Item-Sized Bag.


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[bintobeen]

Thanks for engaging, Badger. Your examples btw clarify something else I was thinking but couldn't put my finger on: the word hero, while not explicitly gendered, seems to me to be a gendered term. When people think of it they think of men. We *can* use "hero" for both men and women, though heroine is encouraged for the latter and I bet in a random sample, when you ask people to name a hero or to conceive a hero that subject will be male.

Again, really disappointed with the name, but I guess I'm not a bagmaker!

[brucep]

A "hero" is overused and implies superiority over others who don't have access or privilege to do so.

I read that name with an emphasis on Journey, as in, "a bag for those who journey". As far as heroes, I think of Ness from Earthbound (and Link, of course, because Nik's shirt is a reference to The Legend of Zelda).

As Ness and his party of four, the player travels the world to …

[threeteez]

I gotta say... so excited to see this bag, and as owner of a few TB things, I love the brand. But... Hero's Journey is a terrible name. It strikes me as a bit jingoistic, a bit pretentious and actually antithetical to the normal TB ethos, which to me is that anybody can travel, enjoy life, meet new people and use ultrafunctional objects (eg bags, accessories) to do so. The traveler is more anonymous, does not stand above the people around them. A "hero" is overused and implies superiority over others who don't have access or privilege to do so.

My 2 cents...

I'm no expert on Joseph Campbell, but I took the name as a nod to him and his writings. A humble, universal everyman, called to adventure, then returning changed.
I figured perhaps those responsible for naming the bag are massive Star Wars and LOTR fans or enthusiastic gamers. I was amused by the Instagram photo of Nik wearing a Zelda t-shirt as another layered hint, but maybe that was pure coincidence and it was just a clean shirt to wear! I'm clueless as the process of design/production/marketing, but it makes me happy to think there is an element of quirky fun and depth of thought mixed in with the TB Crew's work.

[Badger]

Official Thread: The Hero's Journey

I considered the gendering/gendered aspect, but I reject it. We are each the hero of our own journey. If the 20th century asked us to rethink who could be a hero, then maybe now is the time for us to start reformulating our notions of heroes and gender. After all, we don't use the terms "lady doctor," "authoress," or "air hostess" anymore. "Heroine" can take a long walk off a short pier as well.

Then again, we can all follow our own bliss in this regard. I identify much more with (to borrow from Cards Against Humanity) "Mother!?@$ing Wizard." So I'll refer to my bag as the Mother!?@$ing Wizard's Journey.


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[Badger]

I read that name with an emphasis on Journey, as in, "a bag for those who journey". As far as heroes, I think of Ness from Earthbound (and Link, of course, because Nik's shirt is a reference to The Legend of Zelda).

When Darcy first told the mods about the HsJ, I thought of Link immediately! I can't be the only one who will think this every time I put on the bag:

Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past sound effect - Treasure! - YouTube


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[Mare23]

I found a pretty good picture of the bag on Instagram. If you check Tom Bihn's Instagram and look around a bit, you can't miss it.


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[lizziejean3]

I found a pretty good picture of the bag on Instagram. If you check Tom Bihn's Instagram and look around a bit, you can't miss it.


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I noticed it too! If that is THE bag, then woo hoo...it looks fabulous!!!!!

[brucep]

I read that name with an emphasis on Journey …

Related: I counted the number of underscores in Darcy's signature, but I could not figure out what the seven-letter word was. I assumed that figuring out the last word would make the four-letter word obvious. ("the" was an easy assumption for the three-letter word.)

I can't be the only one who will think this every time I put on the bag:

Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past sound effect - Treasure! - YouTube

I'm currently intrigued by — yet skeptical of — the bag. But I still wanted to see the bag held aloft in that first picture.